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Safe to shoot?
- Thread starter jrtheduck23
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Well, that's a typical pre-93 TC Hawken.
Safe, at this point is questionable, more shooting in that condition could make it worse.
It's repairable,,
Are ya handy? Got tool's?
Safe, at this point is questionable, more shooting in that condition could make it worse.
It's repairable,,
Are ya handy? Got tool's?
jrtheduck23
32 Cal
I’ve got plenty of tools, what exactly should I do to repair this? I’ve never worked on a gunstock before.
I have heard that JB Wood Weld works very well. I have used it in the past and so far, so good.
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Lots of good glues can repair that, Titebond and Acraglas will both do it, I have never used JB Wood Weld but it is probably a good epoxy.
I have both Titebond and Acraglas, on that I would thin the Acraglas down, very carefully spread the crack out and then use compressed air to blow the glue further in the crack.
Before doing this have some wood clamps or surgical tubing or rubber bands already to hold it firmly together.
Clean as much excess glue off before it sets up, easy peasy.
I have both Titebond and Acraglas, on that I would thin the Acraglas down, very carefully spread the crack out and then use compressed air to blow the glue further in the crack.
Before doing this have some wood clamps or surgical tubing or rubber bands already to hold it firmly together.
Clean as much excess glue off before it sets up, easy peasy.
Try to open it up some and force tight bond into the joint, and clamp it shut.
You can use some forced air to get the glue further in, or carefully with a razor blade
You can use some forced air to get the glue further in, or carefully with a razor blade
Yes sir. And if the crack is on the inside as well, then that's a good place to try to force epoxy in.
I may be wrong, but that is a common "injury" when someone over tightens the screw. I've acquired three similarly broken, glued up fine. If the stars align and you're having a good day, unless you look at the interior of the stock, the repair may turn out to be nearly unseen.
SmokepoleSam
45 Cal.
I have one just like that that I shoot regularly, mostly with target loads (50-60)grains and it hasn't gotten larger. It happened as was mentioned by overtightening the lock bolt.
longcruise
70 Cal.
Open it as much as you can and run water this super glue into the Crack. Then squeeze it together to cure.
For sure a repair is needed before shooting, thats a long crack. Repair suggestions as above.
I think he means water thin super glue. That will seep into the crack and hold it together.
longcruise
70 Cal.
Yes, thin! Thanks for catching that @Grenadier1758
I had a crack at the bolt hole but it was in the lock mortis not to the outside. I decided to drill out the lock bolt hole, glue in a piece of a hickory ramrod, redrilling the hole would strengthen the area. Do all your crack gluing and fixing first if you decide to add a hickory dowel in the lock bolt hole.
It is not an easy task re-drilling such a hole and have it come out in the right place so your lock bolt hits the threaded hole on the lock plate. I put the dowel in then ground an 11/32 screw sharp, threaded it into the lock plate and put the plate back in the mortis so the sharpened screw would mark the dowel where the hole needed to come out.
I use a drilling spike to drill the hole in the right place after it was marked.
With this set-up I got it right on the first try.
It is not an easy task re-drilling such a hole and have it come out in the right place so your lock bolt hits the threaded hole on the lock plate. I put the dowel in then ground an 11/32 screw sharp, threaded it into the lock plate and put the plate back in the mortis so the sharpened screw would mark the dowel where the hole needed to come out.
I use a drilling spike to drill the hole in the right place after it was marked.
With this set-up I got it right on the first try.
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I used a 16d nail in the vice and instead of the dowel a short piece of aluminum tube in a manner similar to pillar bedding an unmentionable action.
The stock was pretty beat up on the inside, lots of oil-soaked weak splintery wood, the tang screws were stripped. I bought the stock sight unseen to make a TC Hawken/ drop in GM barrel rifle.
I bought a 3/38" bushing kit that came with the right drill bit and installation tool. Because the wood was in such poor shape, I glued a piece of 3/8" hickory dowel in screw hole that went about half way to the trigger plate inlet and left me enough room to screw in the bushing.
I found that screwing in the bushing into seasoned walnut was a real pain, the tool in the kit broke on the first bushing. Alignment of the bushing and the bolt hole through the tang was problematical as well, it was hard to screw in the bushing perfectly straight and aligned with the tang hole. I got one perfect and had to run a tap through the second bushing to start a tang bolt.
A gunsmith friend told me he drilled the holes for the bushings oversized and epoxied the bushings in place instead of screwing them into the wood like I did.
I used 10/32 bolts, the kit had large bushings, Lowe's has 10/32 brass bushings that were about 1/4", had I used these in the project it would have been much easier.
I bought a 3/38" bushing kit that came with the right drill bit and installation tool. Because the wood was in such poor shape, I glued a piece of 3/8" hickory dowel in screw hole that went about half way to the trigger plate inlet and left me enough room to screw in the bushing.
I found that screwing in the bushing into seasoned walnut was a real pain, the tool in the kit broke on the first bushing. Alignment of the bushing and the bolt hole through the tang was problematical as well, it was hard to screw in the bushing perfectly straight and aligned with the tang hole. I got one perfect and had to run a tap through the second bushing to start a tang bolt.
A gunsmith friend told me he drilled the holes for the bushings oversized and epoxied the bushings in place instead of screwing them into the wood like I did.
I used 10/32 bolts, the kit had large bushings, Lowe's has 10/32 brass bushings that were about 1/4", had I used these in the project it would have been much easier.
Thanks for the info! I believe I got mine all fixed. I believe I have the “first” version of the Hawken because my tang screws are about 1/2” long. So I drilled a 5/16” hole through each screw hole and epoxied an oak dowel in them, I drilled a hole down through each dowel after the epoxy cured and put longer bolts in the new holes. I drilled a 5/16” hole through where the lock bolt is and epoxied a dowel in and then drilled a hole through that to run the bolt through. I drilled holes through the crack in the stock and used brass screws and I needed something smaller for some tight spots so I used small trim nails. I put epoxy in the screws and nails and clamped the stock and let it cure. I cut the screws and nails with a dremel and sanded each down flush. I’m probably going to shoot it this weekend and see how it holds up, if it splits again I’ll hang it on the wall at camp and use it as a decoration!
